Possibly named for early Detroiter, James Abbott, or his son James Abbott, who was one of the city's first postmasters. Mary Bailey, of the Detroit News, writes, ''Abbott Street was opened in 1835 and was named for James Abbott Jr., born in Detroit in 1776. His father, James Abbott Sr., came to Detroit in 1768 and organized a fur trading partnership with several local men. James Jr. was educated in Montreal, and followed his father into the fur business. His first Detroit store was near the southwest corner of Woodward Avenue and Woodbridge. He also was postmaster from 1806 to 1831. His home, store, post office and fur warehouse were all located below Woodbridge on Woodward.'' On March 19, 1887 the street's name was changed to Amherst.

Aberle Street

Named after Elias Aberle, land owner

Abington Road

Off map

Abrey Street

Acacia Street

Off map

Academy

Ackley Avenue

Adair Street

Named for William Adair nurseryman and landowner; 1862

Adams Avenue E-W

Named for John Adams, second President of the United States

Adams Street

Named for T.K. Adams; landowner; 1875, later changed to Buchanan March 19, 1887.Is now Buchanan Street.

Source: now defunct Geocities site.

Addison Street

Adelaide Street

Named for the wife of Elijah Brush.

Adele Street

No longer exists.The area now belongs to the GM Corporation BOC Group.

Adeline Avenue

Afton Road

Agnes Avenue

Named after youngest daughter of Moses W. Field

Ahrens Street

Aigret Street

Aklev

Akron

Possibly named for Akron, Ohio.

Alameda Avenue

Alaska Avenue

Probably named for the Alaskan Territory.

Albany Avenue

Probably named for Albany, New York.

Alber Street (Spw)

May be named for Army Private Frederick Alber of Manchester. He received the Medal of Honor for his Civil War service.

Albert Street

Off map

Albion Street

Alcoy Avenue/Street

Alden Avenue

Alder Court/Place/Street

Alexander

Named for Alexander Fraser, landowner; 1857 ; changed to Wight on July 9, 1867.Is now Wight Street.

Source: now defunct Geocities site on Michigan Street names.

Alexander Street

Named for Alexander Stanton, son of General Henry Stanton; 1852 (Stanton Farm); later changed to Newark June 3, 1885.Is now Newark Street.

Source: now defunct Geocities website.

Alexandrine Avenue E-W

Named for Alexandrine M. Willis the wife of B. Campau, land owner; 1863.

Alfred Street

Named for the son of Elijah Brush

Alger Avenue

Probably named for Michigan's 20th Governor, Russell Alexander Alger

Algonac Avenue

According to Michigan Place Names, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft invented the name Algonac by taking the beginning of Algonquin (as in the Algonquin Nation) and adding the suffix 'ac', meaning 'place.'

Algonquin

Named for the Algonquin Nation.

Algonquin Avenue N-S

Named for the Algonquin Nation.Off map

Alice Avenue (Ham)

Hamtramck

Alice Avenue (Spw)

Allen Place

Possibly named for University of Michigan Regent, Marvin Allen. Or maybe for Ann Abor co-founder, John Allen. Or Royal Oak settler, Charles Allen. I think it is most likely that it was named for Lewis Allen, for whom Allen Park is named.

Allen Street

Possibly named for University of Michigan Regent, Marvin Allen.

Allendale Avenue

Allonby Street

Alma Avenue

Almont Avenue

Possibly named for Mexican General Juan N Almonte.

Alpena Avenue

Alpena is the 'Indian' word for partridge.

Alpha Avenue/Street

Alpine Avenue

Alstead Street

Off map

Alter Road N-S

Alvina

Alwar Street

Off map

Alwyne Avenue/Lane

Amazon Avenue

Amber (Ambet?)

Ambet Street

Dearborn?

American Avenue

American Way

Amherst

Named for Jeffery Amherst, first English Governor of Canada

Amity Avenue

Amos Avenue

Amrad Avenue/Street

Amsterdam Street

Named after city in Holland

Anatole Avenue/Street

Off map

Anderdon Avenue

Off map

Anderson Avenue/Street

Named after friend of James NallOff map

Andover Avenue

Andrus Avenue (Ham)

Named after Frank D. Andrus, landowner

Anglin Avenue

Ann Street

Named for the wife of FJB Crane, a landowner.Is now Pitcher Street.

Anna Avenue/Place

No longer exists. Area is now part of Cheverolet Motor Company in Hamtramck.

Annabelle Avenue

Please see ''Annabelle Street.'' My 1926 Detroit Street Guide lists an Annabelle Avenue, but it appears as though the only Annabelle Avenue in Michigan now is the one in Hazel Park.

Annabelle Street

A big thanks to Mister Blue of Detroit 300 for setting me straight on Annabelle Street! He writes, ''Annabelle St. is fact in Detroit
48217 which is the southern most part of Detroit. The area borders the
Rouge River (at the Draw Bridge on Fort St. to the North, Basset St. to the East, I-75 Fisher Fwy Service Dr. to the West & West Outer Drive to the South.''

Annaland Avenue

Annapolis

Off map

Annchester Road

Off map

Annexation

Named after located territory annexed to city the previous year; 1887.

Source: now defunct Geocities website on Michigan names.

Annin Avenue

Annland Avenue

Annott Street

Annsbury Avenue

Anson Street S

Off map

Anspach Street

Off map

Anstell Avenue

Off map

Anthon Street

Named for George Christian Anthon, a garrison doctor in British Detroit.

Anthony Street

Antietam Street

Named from the battle of Antietam in the Civil War.

Antoinette Street

Named for Antoinette Mandlebaum, wife of S. Mandlebaum

Antwerp Avenue

Possibly named for Antwerp, Belgium -- more likely named after Detroit Mayor Eugene Van Antwerp.

Special thanks to David Baeckelandt
(former President and Chairman of the Board of the Gazette van Detroit - the last bilingual Dutch-English Belgian newspaper in North America) for this information.

Anvil Street

Probably named for the blacksmith tool.Off map

Apple Street

Probably named for the fruit or tree.

Appleton Avenue/Street

Off map

Appoline Avenue/Street

Appoline Street (Spw)

Arcadia Avenue/Street

Arch Street

Now known as Bagg Street (?). Named for Arch McLean.Is now Bagg Street (maybe).

Archdale Avenue/Street

Off map

Archer Street

Named for a friend of Mrs. J.C. Williams; 1883.

Source: now defunct Geocities site.

Arcola Avenue

Arden Park

Ardmore Avenue

Argus Street

Off map

Argyle Avenue (Spw)

Probably just named for the Scottish word.

Argyle Crescent

Probably just named for the Scottish word.

Arizona Avenue E-W

Arlington Avenue

Armada Street

The Detroit Almanc tells the story of the naming of Armada Village/Township. The story is that a meeting was held in 1867 to rename an area called Honeoye (and before that, Burke's Corners). The meeting dragged on and on until finally, Hosea Northup stood and declared the name to be Armada ( pronounced ar-MAY-da). Why he chose the name or pronunciation is unknown, but it stuck. This street could be named for the township.

Armin Street (Ham)

Armour Avenue

William (Bill) Armour was the manager for the Detroit Tigers the year Ty Cobb began his career. I don't know if the street is mamed for him. I believe his baseball career was short-lived.

Army Street

Named in honor of soldiers at Fort Wayne

Arndt Street

Named for Henry Arndt, land owner

Arnold Street

Artesian Street

Off map

Arthur Avenue (Spw)

Named after President Chester A. Arthur

Artillery Avenue

Artillery Street S

Asa Street

Asbury Park Avenue

Off map

Ascension

Ash Street

Named for a tree indigenous to Michigan. It is common for areas in cities to have streets named after trees. Ash Street in Detroit is near Butternut, Poplar, Pine, Spruce, Magnolia, Mulberry, and Sycamore Streets.

Ashland Avenue N-S

Off map

Ashley Street

May be named for New Baltimore settler, Alfred Ashley. Ashley was the original name for New Baltimore.Off map

Ashton Avenue/Road

Off map

Askin

Likely named for John Askin, an early Detroit settler. His farm, the Askin Farm, later became the Brush farm, when Askin's daughter married Elijah Brush.

Assumption

I'm not sure that there is an Assumption Street in Detroit. The is one in Windsor.

Astor Avenue

Probably named for fur trader, John Jacob Astor.

Athens Avenue

Could be named for Athens, Greece or Athens, New York -- or neither.

Atkinson Avenue

Named for W.F. Atkinson, of Detroit

Atlanta Avenue

Probably named for the city in Georgia.

Atlantic

Oh, I do't know. Maybe named for the ocean.

Atlas Avenue/Place

Well, an atlas is a type of map.

Atwater Street E-W

Mary Bailey of the Detroit News, writes, "Atwater was named for Reuben Attwater (the spelling was different but early Detroiters didn't seem to care) and because the street was "at the water." Attwater was Secretary of the Michigan Territory in 1808 and was acting governor in the absence of Gov. William Hull in the 1800s."

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=199#ixzz0qOP2Vxki

Auburn Avenue

May be named for Auburn, New York.Off map

Auburndale Avenue (HP)

May be named for Auburn, New York.

Audrain Street

Audrain Street was renamed Clayton sometime between 1910 and 1924. It was supposedly named for Peter Audrain, Secretary of Governor and Judges Territorial Legislature and Clerk of Courts. Some sources spell the name Audrian. I believe Audrain is correct.Is now Clayton.

Thanks much to Ashley Prescott for the information about the renaming of this street!

Audrey

Audubon Avenue

Off map

August Street

Aurelia Street

Named for Aurelia Cutler of Warren, MA, friend of W.B. Wesson1 small section of the street may still exist. Most of it is now part of the campus of Murry Wright High School.

Aurora Avenue

Austin Street

Automobile

Perhaps named for the 4-wheeled mechanical conveyance.

Avalon Avenue (HP)

Averhill Court

Off map

Avery Avenue

May have been named for patron of the arts, Clara Avery.

Avery Terrace

May have been named for patron of the arts, Clara Avery.Is basically an alley.

Articles

Glossary:Algonquin

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes (and others): Delaware, Fox, Huron, Miami, Ojibwa (Chippewa), Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sac, Shawnee and Winnebago.

Glossary:arquebus

A 39 pound (approximate) musket that two men would prop on a tri-pod and fire with a small torch. The arquebus was used by Champlain's men against the Iroquois to defend the Hurons. This may be the cause of decades of Iroquois abuse of the Hurons.

Glossary:clay and wattle

Building technique used in the construction of chimneys in the early days of Fort Ponchartrain. The technique involved piling sticks and packing them - inside and out - with clay and mud.

Glossary:Colbertism

Name for early French mercantilism in America, which Jean-Baptiste Colbert was influential in developing.

Glossary:conges

Trade permits issued by the Canadian government/court of France in the late 1600s to early 1700s.

Glossary:coureurs de bois

Very early French inhabitants of the current US and Canada who gave up their farmsteads for lives in the fur trade. They often lived with Native Americans.

Glossary:District of Hesse

Land district provisioned by the Canadian Council on July 24, 1788. The area was on the east side of the Detroit River.

Glossary:Fox

"Properly ""Mesh-kwa-ki-hug"". Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Renyard. An allied tribe of the Sacs and Mascoutin."

Glossary:Huron

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Iroquoian

General term sometimes used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca.

Glossary:Iroquois

"A Native American tribe known for antagonizing and brutalizing the Hurons (see also arquebus)"

Glossary:Mascouten

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes and Sacs. Also spelled Mascoutin.

Glossary:Miami

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Muskhogean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek.

Glossary:New York Currency

First standard currency used in Detroit (first used in 1765).

Glossary:Ottawa

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Outagamies

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes (and Sacs?).

Glossary:Plains Indians

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, and Pawnee (Pani).

Glossary:Potawatomi

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Quebec Act

Act of June 22, 1774, in which British Parliament decides to exercise English law in criminal cases and old French provincial law in civil cases in western settlements. The idea was to discourage people from settling in the west.

Glossary:Renyard

See Fox

Glossary:ribbon farms

Original land grants given by Cadillac. The lots were typically around 200 feet wide at the river front, with lengths up to 3 miles.

Glossary:Sac

See Sauk

Glossary:Sakis

See Sauk

Glossary:Sauk

Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Sakis; English and Americans generally call them Sacs. An allied tribe of the Foxes/Renyards and Mascouten.

Glossary:Shoshonean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Bannock and Shoshone.

Glossary:Treaty of Montreal

Treaty ending the war between the Iroquois and France and England. Negotiations began in July of 1698 and the treaty was signed in August of 1701.